The race to fish and the threat to sustainability of ...unctad.org/meetings/en/Presentation/ditc-ted... · The race to fish and the threat to sustainability of stocks, environment

The race to fish and the threat to sustainability of stocks, environment and coastal

communitiesINTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP SEMINAR TOWARDS ACHIEVING SDG 14, 25 - 26 April 2017, Hong Kong

INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP SEMINAR TOWARDS ACHIEVING SDG 14

25 - 26 April 2017, Hong Kong

The race to fish and the threat to sustainability of stocks, environment and

coastal communities

Azmath Jaleel Cardiff University



Background

The operating environment

The consequences of the pressures and intense competition

The effect on the fish stocks, communities and the environment

An example of good fishing practice

What can be done?



BackgroundDangerous profession

High waves, gale-force winds, pelting rain, and thunderstorms

Working around the clock - extreme fatigue

Dangerous gear, hauling hundreds of kilos of catch under treacherous conditions

Icy decks, extremely cold waters, lack of safety gear and lack of training




Sources: Data for 2009 are preliminary. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2010.http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/the-most-dangerous-jobs-in-america/?_r=0and Barrie, J. http://munchies.vice.com/articles/fishing-is-one-of-the-most-deadly-jobs-in-the-uk




The types of fishers and sizes of fishing boats





Global catch statistics

Reconstructed catches for all countries in the world, plus High Seas, by large-scale (industrial) and small-scale sectors (artisanal, subsistence, recreational), with discards (overwhelmingly from industrial fisheries) presented separately. http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms10244





Global catch statistics

Price of fish

Cost: $3,603 per pound (bought at $1.76 million in 2013)Tokyo, JapanThe king of the sushi game, Kiyoshi Kimura, currently holds the record for the most amount of money spent on a bluefin tuna—buying it at a hefty $1.76 million dollars in 2013. The fish can be eaten at specialty restaurants scattered throughout Japan. http://firstwefeast.com/eat/2015/06/most-expensive-seafood-dishes

Cost: £108 ($169.86)Kai Mayfair

Cost: £16,000 ($25,162.88)The Caviar House & Prunier

Cost: £2000 ($3,200)Bombay Brasserie

Cost: $100 per oysterCoffin Bay, Australia

Cost: $2,000/poundAcross the U.S.



The operating environment



The operating environmentTotal allowable catch (TAC) and quotas

Total Allowable Catches (TAC) are often set higher than scientific recommendations of ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) http://iuuriskintelligence.com/who-is-to-blame-for-excess-fisheries-quotas-in-eu-member-states/




Nations’ inability to protect own waters

Somali fishers. http://piracyreport.com/index.php/topic/10





Piracy

Somali pirates return, seized Iranian fishing vesselAFRICA. Thursday 26 March 2015 http://www.enca.com/africa/somali-pirates-return-seized-iranian-fishing-vessel





Piracy

Geopolitics

Territorial claims in the South China Sea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_disputes_in_the_South_China_Sea







Overfishing/bycatch

Examples of overfishing exist in areas such as the North Sea, the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and the East China Sea. In these locations, overfishing has not only proved disastrous to fish stocks but also to the fishing communities relying on the harvest.http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Overfishing

Inset: Bycatch. http://www.sapphirecoastdiscovery.com.au/2012/07/professor-steve-kennelly-at-scmdc-to-talk-about-bycatch-reduction/




Overfishing/bycatch

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing

Activists climb on board the illegal cargo ship "Binar 4" full of fish stolen from Guinean waters, as it awaits entry to the port of Las Palmas. April 2006http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/pirate-ship-boarded-130406/




Overfishing/bycatch


Circumventing quota restrictions

http://www.itfseafarers.org/files/seealsodocs/9186/FOC%20flags.pdf




Overfishing/bycatch



Destructive fishing gear

http://www.afma.gov.au/portfolio-item/trawling/

http://www.ghostfishing.org/longline-fishing-curtain-of-death/




Overfishing/bycatch




Destructive fishing methods http://flintmag.com/komodo-big-boom/

Poison fishing using Mongonbo (Millettia sanagana, Fabaceae). A: A Bakwele woman waving a mekala basket – B: Preparation of mongonbo – C: Mixing mongonbo with mud – D: Harvesting fish with mekala. https://ethnoecologie.revues.org/2893




Overfishing/bycatch




Destructive fishing methods

Ghost fishinghttps://www.worldanimalprotection.org/our-work/animals-wild/sea-change

It is estimated that abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear in the oceans makes uparound 10 percent (640 000 tonnes) of all marine litter.The bottom edge of a bottom set gill net is anchored to the sea floor and floats areattached to their top, so that they form a vertical undersea wall of netting that can runanywhere from 600 to 10 000 meters in length. If a gillnet is abandoned or lost, it cancontinue to fish on its own for months - and sometimes years - indiscriminately killing fishand other animals.Traps and pots are another major ghost fisher. In the Chesapeake Bay of the United States,an estimated 150 000 crab traps are lost each year out of an estimated 500 000 totaldeployed. On just the single Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, about 20 000 of all traps seteach year are lost each hurricane season - a loss rate of 50 percent. Like gill nets, thesetraps can continue to fish on their own for long periods of time.http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/19353/icode/




Overfishing/bycatch





Ghost fishing

Fish Laundering

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/artwork/oceans/2013/GPI-TradeInfographic-DEF-standalone150dpi.jpg




Overfishing/bycatch





Ghost fishing

Fish Laundering

Discard of over catch/ bycatchhttp://theblackfish.org/opinion/discard-ban-no-cure/




Overfishing/bycatch





Ghost fishing

Fish Laundering

Discard of over catch/ bycatch

Fish farming and fish feed

http://impactalpha.com/what-to-feed-the-fish/




Overfishing/bycatch





Ghost fishing

Fish Laundering

Discard of over catch/ bycatch

Fish farming and fish feed

Cost cutting

https://www.thenation.com/article/did-slave-labor-produce-your-seafood/



Marginalisation of Small scale fishers – loss of employment and

livelihood

Loss of employment and income for island and coastal

communitiesDepletion of fish stocks Pollution, diseases

Arrests and detention of fishersDestruction of habitats and the

marine environmentPiracy

Trafficking of humans, enslavement, abuse and murder

The effect on the fish stocks, communities and the environment

The race to fish and the threat to sustainability of stocks, environment and coastal communitiesINTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP SEMINAR TOWARDS ACHIEVING SDG 14, 25 - 26 April 2017, Hong Kong



An example of good fishing practice – The Maldives



An example of good fishing practice – The MaldivesPole and line fishery

http://www.wwf.org.au/about-us/partners/john-west#gs.mQ8Y3TI




No contract (walk-in-walk-out) community fishers






Regular payment in kind or cash







Return home for the night








Community involvement (including women/young) in the industry








Fish collecting vessels and processing plants geographically distributed

Fish processing plant at Felivaru Fish processing plant at Kooddoo

Fish collecting vessel at Addu









EEZ fishery done by local companies










No seiners or trawlers – nets are banned











Regular updating of operations and catch data











Regular updating of operations and catch data

Ensure seaworthiness and safety of fishing vessels



What can be done?



What can be done?Enforce international, regional, bilateral and national laws and other instruments in spirit



What can be done?Enforce international laws and other instruments in spirit

Better monitoring of fishing activities

E-monitoring ensures that AFMA and scientists have anaccurate record of all catch and effort in a fishery. This isachieved through independent verification of logbook dataand means that assessments of fish populations andinteractions with protected species will be more accurateand reliable.





Be party to the Work in fishing Convention 188

Applicable to all types of commercialfishing it was designed to ensure thatfishers worldwide have access to decentworking and living conditions






Better management of MPA/SACs







Train/invest in local fishers to be able to use the EEZ more effectively and take back control








Create awareness among the public and especially at schools








Create awareness among the public and especially at schools

Bottom up approach from consumers and NGOs to promote sustainable practices and prevent abuse of fishers



Thank you

Documents

The race to fish and the threat to sustainability of ...unctad.org/meetings/en/Presentation/ditc-ted... · The race to fish and the threat to sustainability of stocks, environment